Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:59 pm
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tweeted today that he will ask the Senate Intelligence Committee to investigate the Trump-Russia connection:
Today I will be asking the Senate Intelligence Committee to thoroughly investigate if Russia coordinated with Trump and his campaign.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 15, 2017
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The trouble is, this is what he is up against, what Paul Krugman identified yesterday as the Republican obsession for tax cuts in favor of investigating threats to our national security.
This is not just an obsession but a diversion. Appearing on CNN’s New Day, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) bragged about Donald Trump’s “bold tax plan” while downplaying any concerns about Trump himself.
Republican @RepKevinBrady says President Trump will talk about his "bold" tax plan during next few weeks https://t.co/7y9z8fn60t
— New Day (@NewDay) February 15, 2017
Brady says yes to Donald Trump’s big tax plan Republicans are willing to forgive treason to enact and no to asking Donald Trump for his all-important and probably all-too revealing tax returns.
Brady said that he wants to know the facts but he seems, like other Republicans, unwilling to actually look for the facts, as though they will magically appear without the effort of an investigation.
This is, as we noted earlier, a far different approach to that mounted in the aftermath of the Benghazi attack and the rush to judgment of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Republican @RepKevinBrady: We need to be "very concerned" about leaks from intel community https://t.co/2ADyKjjHnq
— New Day (@NewDay) February 15, 2017
It defies belief that Republicans think these facts will present themselves without investigation, or that after the massive concern over national security evinced by them when Clinton was the target is somehow unecessary when much greater issues of national security – the sanctity of our election process – is at stake.
As far as investigations and scandals are concerned, the only thing Brady said he was worried about was the other Republican obsession: leaks. Not the criminal activity being leaked, but people talking about the criminal activity, because as we all know, Republicans would all prefer this criminal activity be kept secret.
Like the communication between Trump’s team and Russian officials during the presidential campaign. Like Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russia concerning President Obama’s sanctions. So about those tax cuts…
This is standard Republican obfuscation, all part of a determined effort to downplay as “rumors” any evidence of wrongdoing when rumors were all that was needed to derail the career of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.
